To be heroic

As previously mentioned, yours truly has limited communication routes with the outside world. One that I rely on heavily is the local public radio station that I listen to in my car on the way to work. Yesterday morning I heard this story. It was just another story until the part at the end, where the Soldier remarks that, after loading the bodies of the fallen soldiers that he successfully extricated from a VERY hairy ambush, he watches the helicopter lift and has an overwhelming feeling of "why not me?".

That part of the story caught my attention and brought up a big lump in my throat. Now, I DO NOT do heroic things like going into a heavily armed ambush despite orders to the contrary, but I think I know that feeling. Something about trying as hard as you absolutely can against all odds, doing everything you possibly can, making a difference, but still feeling as if there was something more you could have or should have done.

I am no hero, but I can relate to how Cpl. Meyer felt that day, watching those birds fly away.

http://www.npr.org/2011/09/15/140479024/for-a-marine-hero-a-medal-of-honor

Speed Blogging

Well, as you all can see (all five of you that read this HAH!) I have taken some liberties with the frequency of my blogging, as foreshadowed in my profile description. Rest assured, I am still kicking!

The Rural blue-light special

Now, I don’t know if this happens anywhere else, but here in this small hospital we have a phenomenon we like to call the “Blue Light Special”, Kmart and all. We seem to get uncanny runs of the same medical complaint. DVT’s that lead to admission, seizures, and last week STEMI’s.

Ohhh STEMI’s. My butthole puckers just thinking of thee. You see, this hospital has no RT, anesthesia or surgery, let alone a dang cath lab. So anyone with a STEMI is a big production of getting flown out critical care transport usually via air. Unless of course, the “birds” can’t fly due to our lovely mountain weather. Then the real fun begins. The RN, armed with a plano tackle box full of ACLS meds and protocols, a page of MD orders, the hospital insurance coverage and hopefully the hands of Jesus gets in the back of the ambulance and accompanies the pt to the transferring hospital or airport where the weather is clear enough to fly into. And I say again, pucker factor maximum.

So last week, we had two big ‘uns in two days. The first, we found out later, was 100% occluded. The pt had a previous MI, for which they were given not one, not two, but FIVE stents. Then this pt decided that he could afford cigarettes, but not Plavix. When he got to us he hadn’t been taking Plavix for “A FEW MONTHS”.

Sigh.

The next day we had an ST depression, for which we gave nitro SL and quickly graduated to a nitro gtt. Within 30 minutes of arrival the pt was pain free and wanted to drive themselves the 3 hours to the transferring hospital (the one with the cath lab) via POV. Nope, not happening. The PA explained to her that this was a do-not-pass-go-do-not-collect-$200 affair and that she must go fixed wing to the cath lab. She consented.

In other news….

The county fair happened. I got one grand champion, but the rest were just “blue”. To my great chagrin, I discovered that they do not actually taste the home canned goods that one enters in the fair. Now, the nurse in me looks at some of the other entries in the fair and agrees with my husband’s observation “botulism waiting to happen..” The competitive home canner says “Hell no you wimps! Taste my stuff ‘cause I am 100% positive you would have given ME grand champion”. The capitalist in me says “Screw it, who cares! Just enter one of everything you make. You will probably get like 10$ a jar for it because anything that looks remotely edible will get a blue!”  I will keep you posted as to which little voice wins next year (schizophrenia much?)…

Our little hospital has been in MUCH transition. Over the last year we have pulled out of a flaming, spiraling out of control financial situation, lost./fired our current CEO and taken on an interim COO ( no, I don’t know why two O’s is better than and E and an O when it appears to be the same job), and multiple departments have undergone staffing face lifts since. The nursing department’s time has finally come and there was an announcement last week- A new DNS had been chosen, only now they call it a “Chief Nursing Officer, or a CNO (C’mon people, what is this obsession with O’s?). A current staff member was promoted into the position.

My opinion- Thrilled and hopeful. Not often you can say that about your boss ‘eh? J